GRILLED RACK OF VENISON w/ STEWED VENISON CHEEKS
If you plan to buy a rack of venison to cook on the Big Green Egg and are looking for a tasty side dish, this venison recipe is highly recommended. The stew served with the rack of venison is really quite special, as it contains not just vegetables and mushrooms but also venison cheeks. But what exactly are venison cheeks and what can you do with them? The meat has a firm structure and is packed with flavor. Long, slow stewing makes it nice and tender. If you follow this recipe for the Big Green Egg, you can just leave the venison cheeks to cook while you get on with the rest of the meal.
INGREDIENTS
- 6 Jerusalem artichokes
- 300 g mixed wild mushrooms
- 150 g shimeji mushrooms
- 5 sprigs of rosemary
- 3 sprigs of sage
- ½ bunch of flat-leaf parsley
- 1 leek
- 1 winter carrot
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 8 venison cheeks, membrane removed
- 750 ml red wine
- 1 venison rack, membrane removed
PREPARATION IN ADVANCE
- Place the Cast Iron Grid on the Big Green Egg, ignite the charcoal and heat to a temperature of 180°C.
- In the meantime, peel and chop the Jerusalem artichokes for the stew. Chop the wild mushrooms into equal pieces and separate the shimeji mushrooms. Remove the needles from the rosemary, and the leaves from the sage and parsley and chop finely, keeping the parsley separate from the other herbs. Cut the leek into half rings. Peel the winter carrot, cut it in half lengthwise and cut into slices.
METHOD
- Place the Green Dutch Oven on the grid and heat the olive oil in it.
- Add the venison cheeks and fry until brown on all sides. Add the Jerusalem artichoke and fry for approx. 2 minutes. Stir in the mushrooms, the rosemary and the sage, fry for 1-2 minutes, then add the leek, carrot and parsley. Fry for another 1-2 minutes. Stir the ingredients occasionally, closing the lid of the EGG after each action.
- Deglaze the venison cheeks and the vegetables with the red wine and top up with water if necessary so that the ingredients are submerged. Close the lid of the EGG and leave to stew for 2.5 to 3 hours until the venison cheeks are tender.
- Push the Green Dutch Oven to the back of the grid, or remove it from the EGG and put the lid on to keep the stew warm. Place the rack of venison on the grid and grill for approx. 2 minutes. Turn the meat ninety degrees and grill again for 2 minutes to create a nice grill pattern. Turn the rack over and grill the other side for 2 x 2 minutes. Finally, grill the underside of the meat for approx. 2 x 2 minutes until the meat has a core temperature of 52°C. You can measure the temperature with the Instant Read Digital Thermometer.
- Remove the rack from the EGG, and remove the Green Dutch Oven if you have not already done so, and allow the meat to rest for about 5 minutes.
- Carve the rack of venison into nice chops and sprinkle with black pepper and sea salt to taste. Season the stew with black pepper and sea salt to taste and serve with the chops.